Motor fuel



Patented Nov. 23, 193)? entree STATES $ATE and Company, Chicago,

ois

No Drawing. Application Ill, a, corporation of time 29, 19st,

\ Serial No. 88,06

4 Claims.

This invention relates to motor fuels and comprises a motor fuel of the hydrocarbon type containing a small amount of a ketonic material having the structural formula.

wherein R is a closed ring radical and R is an alkyl group containing at least six carbon atoms. 10 Various substances have been added to gasoline, kerosene and motor fuels used in Diesel engines to improve the combustion characteristics of the fuel, to inhibit gum formation, and to prevent the deposition of carbon in the cylinders in 15 the engine.

I have now discovered that the addition of small amounts of so-called mixed ketones wherein the alkyl group contains at least six carbon atoms has a pronounced tendency to prevent 20 the deposition of carbon during the combustion of the fuel and moreover functions to release any carbon already deposited in the cylinder head of the engine. I am unable to explain how the ketones in the motor fuel function to prevent carbon deposition and I content myself with noting the observable facts. I also note a reduced tendency to knock when motor fuels of low octane number are treated with small amounts of my ketones.

There are a great many ketones embraced within my generic invention. ill of them are characterized by having the structural formula wherein R is a closedring radical and R is an alkyl radical containing at least six carbon atoms. The lowest member of this series is probably phenyl hexyl ketone. Some of the ketones are liquid and others are solid. Phenyl hexyl ketone, for example, is liquid and ketones made from or- 4 dinary xylene by reaction of the xylene with fatty acid chlorides derived from lard fatty acids containing from about 8 to 17 carbon atoms are also liquid. These ketones, derived from ordinary.

xylene probably consist of a mixture of isomeric ketones since ordinary xylene contains both meta decyl ketone, p-phenoxyphenyl tridecyl ketone,

p-phenoxy'phenyl undecyl ketone, p-nitro phe- 60 noxyphenyl heptadecyl ketone, p-methyl phenoxyketone, p-chlorphenyl undecyl ketone,

phenyl heptadecyl ketone, alkyl phenones from lard fatty acids, alpha naphthyl heptadecyl ketone, alpha naphthyl pentadecyl ketone, anthracyl heptadecyl ketone (mixtures), biphenyl heptadecyl ketone, biphenyl tridecyl ketone, biphenyl undecyl ketone, p-methyl biphenyl heptadecyl ketone,-p-chlorbiphenyl heptadecyl ketone, furyl heptadecyl ketone, furyl undecyl ketone, methyl furyl heptadecyl ketone, dibenzofuryl heptadecyl ketone, dibenzofuryl undecyl ketone.

Some of the above ketones are somewhat expensive and I find it better to use the cheaper ketones such as those derived from benzene and stearic acid or lard fatty acids. I have listed many ketones in order to show the generic char- 1 acter of my invention since my experiments have indicated that all ketonic materials of the class described appear to be operative for' the purposes stated.

In the practice of my invention all I need do 20 is dissolve a small amount of one or more of the above ketones in the motor fuel to be improved. For example, I add about 0.05 to 1 percent of the ketone, or mixtures thereof to ordinary commercial gasoline. This gasoline can be straight run distillate or it can be cracked gasoline. Since kerosene has a pronounced tendency to carbon formation my invention is particularly applicable to the prevention thereof when using this fuel. In treating kerosene, I can observe the proportions given for gasoline. Likewise, my invention is applicable to the improvement of crude oil used in Diesel engines and here again proportions of about 0.05 to 1 percent are entirely adequate for improving the fuel. All of the ketones described above are soluble in hydrocarbon fuels of the type described in the proportions stated.

If desired, small amounts of these ketones can be added directly to gasoline in the gasoline tank of an engine, but I find it more advantageous. to 40 treat large volumes of the motor fuel and dispense it as a treated fuel.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A hydrocarbon motor fuel of the gasoline or kerosene type, said fuel containing a small amount of an aralkyl ketone the aryl radical of which is chosen from the group consisting of unsubstituted phenyl, tolyl and xylyl, and the alkyl group is a straight-chain unsubstituted alkyl rad- 5O ical containing at least eight carbon atoms.

2. The fuel as in claim 1 wherein the alkyl radical of the ketone is unsubstituted heptadecyl.

3. A hydrocarbon motor fuel of the gasoline or kerosene type containing a small amount of an unsubstituted xylyl heptadecyl ketone. v

4. Cracked gasoline containing a small amount of unsubstituted xylyl heptadecyl ketone.

VICTOR CONQUEST. so 

